References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 This title was originally released by Rhino as a single; and the original packaging had a goof: On the back was a photo of Joel. It was more recently re-released as a single by Shout.
\n\u2022 I think you can mark this episode as the point where the invention exchange concept begins its inevitable decline. As explained in the FAQ, there is both an “on-screen” reason and an “off-screen” reason why this happened. On-screen: the invention exchange was a form of greeting between Gizmonic Institute employees. Since both Dr. F. and Joel were both former Gizmonic Institute employees, it was the first thing they did each episode. But Mike never worked for Gizmonic (he was a temp hired directly by Dr. F.) and so he knows nothing of Gizmonic’s corporate culture. Mike would therefore not understand what an invention exchange was about and Dr. F. would see no point in exchanging inventions with him. Off-screen: the invention exchanges were mostly Joel’s doing. He was the gizmo guy. When he left, all the air went out of the concept. In this episode, the Mads\u2019 invention is downright strange and Mike’s is only fair (although, to be fair, Joel had a lot of mediocre ones too).
\n\u2022 The short is a gem, SO serious and dark that it really brings out the riffing gold.
\n\u2022 Mike brings popcorn into the theater! I don\u2019t think he ever did again.
\n\u2022 \u201cYou\u2019re opening, Jeff\u2019s middling and I\u2019m the headliner,\u201d is a car conversation the writers probably had in their standup days.
\n\u2022 There\u2019s not much to say about the first segment, since it basically lays the groundwork for what\u2019s to come, or the second one, which advances the story.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “He didn’t steal no bike, neither!” (Teenage Strangler) “I am the north wind…” (Day the Earth Froze)
\n\u2022 Crow\u2019s cheating causes some unusual meanness in the theater: Tom tells Crow to shut up a couple of times.
\n\u2022 I love all the Bob Hope-style jokes: \u201cToccata and WOW in D minor!\u201d
\n\u2022 Are those scenes really from “The Mole People”? Are they in the version shown in season 8? I forget.
\n\u2022 The third segment contains a moment that is very important to me. It’s the moment Mike won me over. At this point, I still was not entirely sure about Mike. He was growing on me, but, well, I just didn\u2019t know. But he does something in the third segment\u2014and I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s even intentional\u2014that just endeared him to me immediately. Watch Mike\u2019s expression as a disguised Crow arrives, bearing soup, in the midst of the discussion. Mike sees Crow and puts on a completely guileless smile, warm and delighted at the prospect of a nice mustachioed gentleman offering soup. It\u2019s just such a funny and genuine expression. It cracks me up every time I see it. It was at that moment that Mike completely won me over.
\n\u2022 Mike expresses a desire to hunt down Jerry Warren. Unfortunately, Jerry passed on in 1988.
\n\u2022 In the final segment, watch Mike sniff the Hostess Snowballs, make a face, and put them back on the plate.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Cinematographer William Troiano also worked on “The Slime People.” In front of the camera, Steve Brodie is also in “Giant Spider Invasion.” And of course, the great Bruno VeSota is also in “Daddy-O,” “Gunslinger,” “Attack of the Giant Leeches” and “The Undead.”
\n\u2022 Creditswatch: Bridget Jones switches from writer to contributing writer for the next three episodes. Host segments directed by Jim Mallon.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “Oh, hi, Miss Granb–AHHHHHH!” Honorable mention: \u201cThat you, student counselor??\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: o\/` “Yes, the devil made this movie for you.” o\/` Honorable mention: “Tethered to the mob!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\nShort: (1951) A high school student is caught copying his test answers from another student. Movie: (1966) Revealingly-clad crimefighter Batwoman is on the case after villains Ratfink and Professor Neon steal an atomic hearing aid. <\/p>\n
First shown: 11\/13\/93 Opening: Mike is the dealer, the game is blackjack Invention exchange: Frank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-episode-guide","odd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22730,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions\/22730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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